Containing Smith and Khawaja's spin problem

Joe Root was brilliant with his tactics and captaincy throughout the day. Steven Smith usually likes to score at a brisk pace but he was denied that by some intelligent field placements and good accurate bowling. Smith scored his first boundary off the third ball he faced. However, his next boundary didn't come until his 80th ball. Fifty out of the 80 balls in this period were bowled on a good length and made it hard for Smith to utilise his favoured flick and score quickly. James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers - Smith scored just 10 runs from the 46 deliveries he faced from Anderson. But although England contained Smith, they failed to dismiss him. Smith's patience paid off as he went on to his half-century from 112 balls. Smith has passed 50 at least once in each of the 19 series he has played in his Test career.

Usman Khawaja was a sure selection at home, where he averaged 61.10 and has scored four centuries. Outside of Australia he averages 27.21 with one century. One of the biggest problems Khawaja had was to play spin outside of Australia. However, his struggles seem to continue at home as well. Root brought on Moeen Ali as first change and he dismissed Khawaja with the second ball he bowled to Australia's No. 3. Since January 2016, Khawaja has scored 84 runs from 168 balls and has been dismissed five times against offspin. Against left-arm orthodox, he has been dismissed four times for a tally of 114 runs from 217 balls. Clearly spin is not his forte irrespective of the conditions, which England capitalised on.

Root and his team have had clear plans against each batsman. For Peter Handscomb, the plan was to bowl full. In his international career to date, Handscomb has been dismissed four times by yorkers or full-length balls - the most he has been dismissed for any length. With his high backlift, bowlers are looking to capitalise by bowling different speeds. Handscomb has been dismissed leg-before once, bowled twice and hit-wicket once when the ball has been full. Root and England will doubtless look to continue this trend.

Josh Hazlewood is a key bowler in Australia's three-pronged pace attack, but he has not been very consistent with his line and length this match and his form over the last six innings is a concern. Since the Bangalore Test against India, Hazlewood has bowled 116.5 overs and taken just three wickets at an average of 89.00. The other startling number is that in this period he has taken a wicket only once every 39 overs. Before this period, he took six wickets in 24 overs. Although the majority of these recent matches were played in the subcontinent, the numbers are not very encouraging. Among all bowlers who have bowled a minimum of 50 overs in this period, Hazlewood has the third-worst strike rate. Only Mark Wood and Chris Mpofu have a worse record in that time.